Trustees laud campus center plan

and ROXANNE PATEL University Trustees praised the preliminary design of the campus center and its surrounding area at their full meeting Friday morning. Trustees Chairperson Alvin Shoemaker said after the meeting that while the center must be "done right," compromises on the design would probably be necessary. "We can't guarantee anything," he said. "It will be a very big, difficult final decision." The presentation of the master plan -- delivered at the Trustees' Facilities and Campus Planning Committee meeting -- featured slides and models of the Revlon Center site and the firm's vision of the area from 33rd to 38th streets between Walnut and Chestnut Streets. The Trustees' few criticisms of the architects' model centered on the buildings' security, the unorthodox design, and whether the complex could be constructed in a single phase. The preliminary proposal for the Revlon Center includes two buildings -- a six-story main building with a central cylindrical drum and geometrically-shaped wings and a smaller, rectangular building. Shoemaker said after the meeting that the University had only raised a "small amount" of the money it needed to build the center. Rick Nahm, vice president for development, said Tuesday that about $11 million had been donated or pledged to the campus center so far, not including this year's senior class gift. He added that his office is also negotiating a possible $2 million donation. Officials have said they believe the University's $1 billion capital campaign will be able to raise $30 million at most for the non-commercial aspects of the campus center. In other business, the Trustees' Committee on University Responsibility heard a presentation on the number of minority and non-minority students, faculty and staff at the University. Administrators gave hiring figures of black, Hispanic and women faculty members over the past six years, as well as student matriculation and retention rates. They also discussed programs which have been implemented to attract and retain graduate and undergraduate students. Some of the Trustees expressed disappointment with the low numbers, but officials assured them that the University has one of the best minority retention programs in the country. Trustees also reviewed architectural plans of both the Law School Library and English House renovations.

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